Link Centre Dictionary

intense

in·tense

US/ɪnˈtɛns/ common

adjective

1.

in an extreme degree

  • “intense heat”
  • “intense anxiety”
  • “intense desire”
  • “intense emotion”
  • “the skunk”
  • “;”
  • “;”
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2.

extremely sharp or intense

  • “acute pain”
  • “felt acute annoyance”
  • “intense itching and burning”
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3.

(of color) having the highest saturation

  • “vivid green”
  • “intense blue”
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Origin

From Late Middle English intens, intense (“ardent, fervent; extreme, great, intense”), borrowed from Old French intense (modern French intense), or directly from its etymon Latin intēnsus (“strained, stretched tight; intense; attentive; violent; (rare) eager, intent”), the perfect passive participle of intendō (“to stretch out, strain”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + tendō (“to extend, stretch”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tend- (“to extend, stretch”)).

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See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.